How Restaurants Can Save Money with Online Tools
The internet is useful in so many ways; it can help you find tasty new recipes, and a YouTube video might even literally show you how to cook a new dish in detail. However, online resources can’t really cook your meals for you, nor will they pay for the gas or ingredients themselves! So, the question is, how can any online tool possibly help a restaurant save money? Sure, there is online marketing ROI to consider, but that’s return on investment, which is not the same as reducing expenses. It’s a legitimate question, and we will answer it next with actionable examples.
Online Comparison: Save Money by Paying Less for Your Business Utilities
Business energy is a term used to designate both commercial electricity and gas supply. For restaurants, the combined cost of business energy is one of the biggest expenses that the establishment has to bear every month. By comparing the price of business utilities online, it is possible to shave off more than 40% from your monthly business utility related expenses simply by switching to a new provider at the end of the current contract. Even if you can reduce your current business utility expenses by half that much, the restaurant still stands to save a big chunk of money without sacrificing on quality; something which is extremely hard to accomplish in business!
Decrease Active Restaurant Hours with Delivery Apps
More active hours generate more revenue, provided that the restaurant is full until closing time arrives. That may not always be the situation though, as most restaurants stay open long past their prime time, catering to only a few customers every now and then. This is bad business because:
- You need to pay your hourly employees for putting in those idle work hours
- The cost of electricity (lighting, heating, running televisions, etc.) keeps mounting during those hours without sufficient return to justify it
To stop losing money on these fronts, either invest in your own app for local home deliveries, or sign up with a food delivery partner. Note when the restaurant’s customer presence thins out, and shorten the restaurant’s active hours accordingly. However, instead of completely closing down for the night, maintain a skeleton crew to prepare and pack online or offline orders for deliveries and takeaways respectively. Not only will this save money by cutting off unnecessary employee payments and utility bills, but at the same time, the delivery app will keep generating extra revenue for the restaurant at a lower expense.
Save Money on Marketing
Instagram is perfect for marketing a restaurant with short videos and high-quality pictures of your best delicacies. However, did you know that smaller, localised restaurants often do better on Facebook? This is because Facebook has more popular interest groups which are perfect for local restaurants to find local customers. Social media analysis tools can help you realise if you are overspending on marketing, or if you need to shift your attention and redirect your budget to a new social media channel for better results.
These are just three examples, but there are several others that you will come across once you get started with the right mindset. Remember the difference between investing to earn more, and saving money by decreasing inessential expenses. This distinction helps restaurant owners to avoid overspending on marketing or any other aspect of the restaurant business.
